5 Bucket List Items for Your Family this Summer

Since today is the official first day of Summer, I thought I would share 5 of bucket list items to do as a family during the Summer.  I love all the bucket lists on Pinterest but boy are they overwhelming!  Some of them list 100+ things to do over the summer.  I would be exhausted if we did all those activities.  Here are my top five that we do every year as a family over the summer.    

1.  Go camping, rent a cabin or stay at a resort - I have posted about this before but I can not say enough about how wonderful camping is for a family. It forces you to unplug, slow down and all enjoy the outdoors.  If you hate the idea of tenting, rent a cabin or stay at a resort in the outdoors.  The whole goal is to spend time together in nature.

2.  Go on a picnic.  Might sound so simple but when was the last time you all went on a picnic somewhere?  Pack up a lunch, grab a picnic blanket and enjoy an afternoon at the park or a lake.  My kids LOVE when we do this.  

3.  Explore water.  Maybe it is swimming, maybe it is boating or maybe just splashing around in a creek.  I happen to love water anything so we do this all summer long.  

4.  Go hiking.  Take at least one hike.  I know this can seem like a daunting task if you have littles ones like we have had for the past 16 years!  Trust me you will enjoy it just don't expect that you will log thousands of steps on your Fitbit.  I usually "research" online for a simple hike of which my definition is a loop that is less than one mile.  Everyone should be able to walk the whole time except maybe the two year old.  I avoid hikes with ledges and narrow paths just because I don't want to be a "nervous Nellie" the whole time telling the kids to be careful.  You will feel like you made a huge accomplishment together!

5.  Visit your local library.  I can't say enough about libraries.  When I was a child, I have very fond memories of library story times and activities.  Now libraries have really upped their game and have so many wonderful and usually free activities.  The kids will get some entertainment and my husband and I take turns exploring the bookshelves.

What is your favorite summer time activity?

Want more family bucket list ideas?  

Check out the Family Bucket List Growing Play Cards Set. This set of cards includes 50 things to experience as a family before the kids grow up and move out.  Write down the date you complete the activity.  Have fun together as a family - they are only young once.  Find out more information GrowingPlay.com.